Wallows make their way to Boston

Wallows

May 10, 2019 at Paradise Rock Club

From the moment Wallows took the stage at Paradise Rock Club, they exuded strong, yet light-hearted adrenaline as they performed. Their positive energy prompted the audience to reciprocate, jumping and dancing along to the music throughout the whole show. Despite the small size of the venue and the fact that Wallows is a fairly new band, their energetic and fun demeanor made this one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.

Wallows. Photo by Rachel Feinberg for WRBB.

The show itself was not inherently special. An amateur level indie-rock performance with little decor beyond cool lighting, but the talent and professionalism they exhibit makes you forget they’re still fairly new to touring altogether.

Opening the show with “Are You Bored Yet?”, the lead single off their album, got the crowd into the swing of things quickly. By the time they reached the chorus the energy was bouncing off the walls and the lyrics were being shouted back at the band while they sang. The setlist combined tracks from their album as well as priorly released EP, and they even threw in a few of the first songs they ever released back in 2017.

Some of the best moments of the show seemed to occur on random whims, like an impromptu cover of the Drake & Josh theme song or the performance of one of their first songs, “Sun Tan”, which hadn’t been performed live since their 2018 winter tour. The highlight of the night, however, was the performance of “Do Not Wait”, their album’s final track. At 6-and-a-half minutes long, the song is undoubtedly their most vulnerable and the raw emotion pouring out of Dylan Minnette’s voice is even more powerful in person.

As a fan of their music since the start, I was filled with not only joy but also a sense of pride getting to see Wallows perform live. I felt that feeling all around me as well. I could tell that most of the people in the crowd not only enjoy the bands music, they also can’t help but fall for the charming innocence of the three boys who make up the band as well. Wallows puts on a great show because they’re great musicians, but even if they weren’t it’d be hard not to have a good time while watching the band on stage having the time of their lives.

All photos by Rachel Feinberg

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